A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Is Currensea Safe…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you an affordable method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which also assists.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you select a paid plan, however the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competition
add increasingly more features which your existing customers don’t really want or need
include costs, limitations or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Is Currensea Safe
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no costs and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank immediately validates that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the free card, adds a 0.5% charge. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic spend notification via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to happen (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily in the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
However I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this implies is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking money and the extra action. However that does not imply it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make profits from our Important Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our plans, full information can be found on our pricing plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Is Currensea Safe